Since google owns waze, does waze get real-time traffic from google or does the info only flow from waze to google? I’m asking because it seems that google maps often seems to be more “informed” than waze about traffic. Presumably the entirety of android phones and phones using google maps that are providing real-time traffic to google must be more than the number of phones using waze.
Yes, Waze will use some of Google’s data and vice versa. However, it’s not because they own Waze. The two are still very much separate and operate independently. The data being shared is actually done via agreements.
Please be advised that Google’s traffic density data seems to contain the data from everyone using Google Maps on that particular stretch of road. So cardrivers as well as people on buses, trains, by foot, etc.
Meaning that this data less useful for cardrivers on roads used by mixed types of transport.
That’s an interesting point. However, since the fitness apps can count your steps, you would think the phone would be smart enough to flag the data accordingly when the phone thinks you are walking.